By doing evaluation and in depth analysis on the basis of available evidence, the research paper is written. The difference between analytical essay and a research paper is that, a research paper is written using analysing of data, old literatures or researches and also with citation code.
Writing of research paper is commonly known among college and even school students. The universities use this to test the research skills among students or to test their knowledge over a particular topic. The research paper serves as a foundation for modern science. This has been considered as an effective way for communication and to share information over a wide range.
Recognize the task
The first step to be followed before conducting a research is to know about writing prompt and to recognize the task. Many students tend to start their research work even before knowing about the guidelines of task.
From your guidelines check about the requirements which are technical like formatting and length requirements also about citation style. Don’t forget to find about the details like cover page or abstract requirement.
When you are clear with your task then move to writing your paper. Follow the correct procedure involved in it. The process for writing research paper is same for all, but the steps may vary from one another.
Choose your Topic
Choosing a topic is most difficult and important task. Students should choose their topic by own. That will be the important decision because that determines the further steps.
While choosing a topic you should think of criteria like whether the topic will provide you with enough information for your research. To enhance discussion on your topic, it should not be more complex. You have to choose a unique topic rather than selecting a general one to stand out from others.
Gather Preliminary Research
Doing preliminary research will help you in refining your topic in different ways like finding best approaches and path for your research work, helps in identifying source materials, to clarify doubts regarding the topic. Know about the recent researches going on in the topic you chose.
The material source can be found in library or in online. Make sure to collect online information from reliable sources like academic papers or science journals. Know about the differentiation between secondary and primary sources when you are doing search. The primary sources like autobiographies or published articles are meant as first-hand accounts. The secondary sources like second-hand biographies or the critical reviews were more removed.
When you are collecting information for your research, instead of studying the sources from top to bottom, read only the required information to save time. You can use that time to find better and worthy sources.
Write a Research Statement
The research statement comes at the top of your paper which makes the reader understand about your topic. When you are writing a research statement, write it in a brief and summarized manner in your paper, using the preliminary research you have done.
A research statement can others know about your research. Other researchers looking for some source material for their research can find whether your research will be useful for them or not by accessing your research statement itself. You can use the same way to access others research.
To make a thesis statement better you should mention all the key elements of your topic without giving too many details unnecessarily. You can rephrase your topic as a problem and define a solution for it to build a thesis statement, if you feel difficulty in building it.
Determine Supporting Evidence
At this stage you are actually going to work hard for your research. You have to get specific information about the topic by accessing all the sources to support your thesis statement.
Don’t delay writing of your paper by relying on information which does not match or unnecessary for your study. Take notes of the evidence which support your statement while going through the sources. Make sure to mark page numbers which helps you in future for citation purpose.
Make use of any index cards or bibliography cards other than just taking notes and highlighting texts. An index card contains bibliographical content one side and direct quotation or facts on other side. Many students find bibliography cards useful to be organized.
Write a Research Paper Outline
The outline of a research paper requires all the problems you identified regarding the topic to be addressed, which requires a systematic and methodical structure.
Many students have doubt regarding writing a research paper outline. To begin with it, start by listing the important subtopics and categories you want to focus first. Now decide about the flow in which the subtopics should be discussed about. Choose chronological approach to sequence your information in an order, in which it occurred, if it is in a straightforward way. Break the outline of your paper into a separate paragraph to avoid complication.
In your outline make sure to include the evidence supporting your statement, it will help you with not missing any important point.
Write the First Draft
Writing first draft for your research is one of the complicated and lonest processes. If you have a clear cut outline and you have all the information with you then you may feel it easy to complete this step. Before start writing your first draft you should have the introduction and outline of your paper. Research statement starts with introduction part and then the secondary information to fill body of the paper. Your research paper should have subheading sections to understand about your research in an easy way.
The difficult part about writing research paper is that to maintain the sequence of paragraphs. How long your paper goes that much is the difficulty level to connect information. Sentence transitions can help you with maintaining the flow of paragraphs.
Once you complete writing your paper’s body, then you can draw your conclusion. The conclusion of your paper should reiterate your evidence, simplify results and your research should be restated.
Cite your Sources Correctly
Citation brings the difference between casual nonfiction essays and research papers. By citing your paper you can get a chance to link with scientific community people and can also do data validation. The two most popular formatting styles are APA and MLA.
Edit and Proofread
Proofreading helps you to correct your mistakes.
Structural edit:
Structural edit involves checking of:
Concise and clear statement
Details in which generalization should be avoided
Organization and flow of topics
Repetition of information
Citation of sources
Arguments that should prove and support thesis.
Plagiarism which may occur accidently
Word choice, grammar, and spelling edit:
This involves checking of:
Flow of sentence
Specific and clear language
Punctuation, spelling and grammar
Avoidance of filler phrases and words